Riding for the Disabled given a Paradise Lagoons hot start

What do you get when you put two of the biggest Barrel Racing Associations in Queensland together on the same weekend at the beautiful Paradise Lagoon Complex?

You get one action family packed weekend that no one wants to miss!

The National Barrel Horse Association State Show will be held for the first time in Central Queensland starting on June 15 and will be run in conjunction with the Australian Barrel Horse Association Cap Coast Classic.

This will be one of the biggest meets between the two clubs that Central Queensland has ever hosted.

With the nine districts that are scattered throughout Queensland all bringing the best of the best to compete for the State Championship titles, there are some serious contenders to watch for these prestigious buckles.

Competitors will have two chances to make it to the final round on Sunday, with qualifiers being run each day in the beautiful campdraft arena at Paradise Lagoon.

Eighty open competitors and 40 junior competitors will be given a chance to show their skills.

The arena which will be home to the NBHA over the three days of competition.

With a huge arena and wide open spaces, some competitors will be relying on all their skills and abilities to navigate their steeds around and make sure they put themselves in the best position they can to qualify in the top runners to head into the finals on the Sunday.

Competition starts on Friday at 10am in the main arena at Paradise Lagoons, with a bar, food and vendor stalls operational all weekend.

Two barrel racing associations have aligned to utilise the Paradise facilities over the weekend, The National Barrel Horse of Australia State Show and the Australian Barrel Horse Association Cap Coast Circuit Classic, which means two arenas will be operational through the day.

Record numbers have been received by the ABHA Cap Coast, with 160 starters in the open divisional and forty nominations from interstate.

The event is age specific and for the up and coming horses ages four, five, and six years.

ABHA Cap Coast president Suzy Patteson was delighted with the nominations for the classic and said “barrel futurities are fast becoming a prestigious event where successful horses and riders can make their name in the sport as trainers, spotlight a breed and boost the value of the horse”.

With a big field of starters in The Martin Saddlery Futurity this year, strong competition is guaranteed when the clocks fire up in the arena.

It is the Aligned Chiropractor Maturity Event, horses of seven, eight and nine years of age that has everyone talking. The word is that this event will be hard to win, with a role call of tough running horses.

Another first for the ABHA Cap Coast Circuit is the offering of three trophy saddles to be claimed in the Top Ten Fastest Runs Shoot Out from the divisional also the futurity and maturity events, along with the RMR Rockhampton Metal Recyclers trophy saddle for the slickest and fastest Junior run.

Organisers have not forgotten our little pocket rockets of barrel racing, the pee wees, who will also have the opportunity to take home a saddle.

The highlight of the weekend will be the men’s calcutta barrel race that the club is holding to raise much needed awareness and funds for the local Rockhampton Riding for the Disabled.

The men will battle it out Saturday night and will be an event that not to be missed.

On Sunday morning there will be a Riding for the Disabled Barrel Race, which will assist in raising some much needed funds for the Rockhampton Club and some great prizes for the competitors planned.

Competition will commence for the 2018 Martin Saddlery Classic at 8am on Saturday morning with a bar, food and vendor stalls operational all weekend.